Skip to main content

The Greatest Home Price Declines Are Found In …

May 29, 2018
At a time when home prices appear to be on a non-stop upward flight, there are still markets where housing is becoming cheaper with each passing month

At a time when home prices appear to be on a non-stop upward flight, there are still markets where housing is becoming cheaper with each passing month. According to a new data study by Realtor.com comparing the 12-month periods of May 2016 to April 2017 with May 2017 to April 2018, California’s Santa Maria–Santa Barbara metro area saw the most dramatic price plummet, with a 17.7 percent price in a market where the median home list price is $951,600.
 
Realtor.com blamed the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara market’s woes on Mother Nature: wildfires destroyed nearly 50,000 acres and 20 homes, while mudslides were responsible for more than 20 deaths and extensive property damage. California’s state government estimated the area is burdened with more than $400 million in damages. The third ranking metro on this list also faced natural disaster-induced housing difficulties: Napa, Calif., where the median home list price of $823,900 represented a 6.7 percent drop.
 
Other metro areas tracked by Realtor.com that are experiencing home price free-falls include Pottsville, Pa., best known as the home of Yuengling brewery, the nation’s oldest. The median home list price in this market is $72,300, and prices are down 8.1 percent. Realtor.com blamed the problem on high regional unemployment and a lack of new home construction. Similar difficulties impacted the fifth ranked metro on the list: Beckley, W.V., where the median home list price of $134,000 represented a 4.2 percent price decline.
 
The fourth ranked metro on the list was the Texas capital of Austin, where overbuilding has created a rare housing surplus. As a result, the median home list price of $373,000 resulted in a 4.3 percent price decline. Complicating matters is a higher-than-normal increase in foreclosures: up 30 percent year-over-year in the first quarter. Another Texas metro, College Station, had a similar overbuilding boom that created a price bust, with a median home list price of $301,700 resulting in a 3.6 percent price drop.

 
About the author
Published
May 29, 2018
Fed Holds Rates Steady As Economic Growth Stays Solid

Move comes amid mounting pressure, frustration from President Trump

Guild Mortgage To Go Private In $1.3B Deal With Bayview Asset Management

Guild to remain independent post-acquisition, strengthening national retail and servicing strategy

Jun 18, 2025
Rocket Pro And Vetted VA Join Forces

What started as a Facebook group now educates 100K+ veterans monthly — Vetted VA and Rocket Pro working to bring ethics, clarity to a broken system

Jun 17, 2025
MBA Urges Shift To Single Credit Report Model, Citing Cost Savings And Efficiency

MBA says tri-merge credit checks cost lenders up to $100 per loan, doubling since pre-COVID, as industry pushes for a cheaper, single-report model

Jun 16, 2025
Fairway Acquires Hallmark Home Mortgage Through Asset Purchase

Hallmark to become new Fairway division, gets access to Fairway's Fairway's product portfolio, tech, and support resources

Jun 13, 2025
Trigger Leads Bill Clears Senate

Final push now left to House; reconciled bill needed next